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Post by Keziah on Sept 16, 2017 23:28:40 GMT
There was a sudden eddy of dust where they stood on the savannah, the walls of the City still visible behind them and a well-worn dirt road not far to their left. This close to the gates the roads were good - flat, well-used, wide and free of stones from the passage of many hundreds of people and wagons. And the summer had been a hot one, sucking the moisture from the ground, so that when Nie landed near them with a faint thump and a whoosh of air under flared wings, the dust whirled around them like a small, contained tornado for a few moments. Keziah sneezed and waved a hand in front of her face to clear it, then wandered over to the feathered dragon and ran her palm over Nie's wing. The arrow wound from their last raid was healed, a small raised bump from a scab the only sign of the injury now, and she was flying fine. She would take to the air again soon, Keziah knew, preferring to soar high above the scorching grasslands, able to ride the thermals for hours if luck was with her, but this was the first time she'd seen her up close in several days since Nie stayed on the roofs most of the time they were in the City. She could have sworn the feathered dragon had grown another inch in that time - she was ravenously hungry at the moment and had done wonders for reducing the rat population while they were there - and her shoulder now reached Keziah's chest.
She nodded at Campion's explanation of how he intended to find Ginger. The savannah seemed endlessly vast to her, but Campion had lived out here for years and knew how to navigate it. And now, Keziah was learning the basics, too. As he spoke she was able to identify north and south, to recognise which fork in the road ahead would lead towards Spirit, and which towards the Boil, based on the position of the sun in the sky. It was a crude, simple way of navigating, but a skill that had been entirely new to her when she left the City - a place which one navigated through the use of landmarks. The savannah had some signs, heavy wooden things hammered into forks in the road, but they were only on the roads - useless if you wanted to travel off them - and not always reliably placed. They weathered, broke down, were vandalised. Campion had taught her to rely on other things for direction.
"Let's go then!" Keziah adjusted her pack - the brown leather bag, worn and butter soft from use, she had quickly become very attached to, and tightened the straps on her shoulders. Nie bumped her affectionately with her head then in two quick bounds was back into the sky - where she'd be their eyes far above, able to warn Keziah of danger, or opportunity, telepathically if need be.
"I dunno about you but I ain't got much food left from that last raid. I ate most of it in the City. Water's full though. Think we might raid again soon?"
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Post by Campion on Sept 17, 2017 0:31:20 GMT
Grinning like a moron, long past the point of even remembering that he only had one arm, Campion was just as ready to go as Kez. The more he thought about it, the more excited he grew to see his oldest and most treasured friend. He whistled for Crawk, Kali, and the pup to follow after. Now that there were animals like him, the small striped hyena was happily following and not straying away, walking next to the Warg almost like they were litter mates.
It was hot out, or better yet crispy as Campion would describe it. Even though it was still a few hours till the hottest part of the day, the heat was just a bit more intense that he knew it’d be a painful walk to the next bit of shade that the savanna had to offer. He put his hand up and used it to block the sun from his eyes as he looked in the direction that they were headed. There was a lot of brush and brown, dried, tall grasses. Since they were still close to the City, he could see people on the road, headed towards safety away from the predators and bandits that liked to prey on them. There was no real “safety” until they were in the City walls, however. Though less likely, it was still possible for them to get raided as close as they were.
Campion was in slight debate, not sure if he wanted to veer off the road or stay along it some time. “Yeah, I’m pretty low on food. I wasn’t kiddin’ when I said I said I spent a lot of coin on drinks. Should have bought some food.” Oh well. Too late now. “But yeah, we’ll need to raid again. Not so close to the city though. Could be some hound patrols still around here somewhere.” And, truth be told, he had no idea how capable he was in a fight in his condition.
They were moving at a moderate pace, slowly straying from the road as Campion made up his mind. Though he was not worried about his arm being gone, he wasn’t dumb. Ears flicking from the flies that tried to take a bite, his brow was furrowed from some slight frustration. “I think we should find Ginger first, then Raid. She’s bound to have some food herself. Maybe even get Nie and Crawk to do a little bit of hunting. My wound is still really fresh and my sense of balance is off, so I have no idea how capable I am with my axe.” If they couldn’t find Ginger, then they’d need to take the risk. If that happened, most likely Campion would have to depend on Crawk which was not really ideal. The brute was crazy when in a blood rage.
Without realizing it, Campion had moved a good deal away from the road, and the day was getting more brutal with every step. It almost felt like his skin was steaming, but they still had a good hour or two before it’d be time to find shade. “I think you’ll like her,” he commented. “I know I’ve said it, but she’s a lot like you in some ways. Very rational about everything. Kind of a wild card. And she likes to make fun of my love for dogs too, ya know.” He couldn’t help it! Hoarding dogs just seemed like a nice way to go in life.
He didn’t bother to mention how she was very open about their close relationship either, positive that Kez wouldn’t be bothered by that sort of thing. Most likely, Ginger would make fun of him, bash him, and then make out with him in one fell swoop. That was just the way she was, and part of why he liked her so much. Though just a kid, Kez did grow up on the streets and he was sure she’d been through many things, hence her level of maturity at such a young age.
“What are you planning to do, kid, once you learn to use the bow? Gunna make a livin’ off hunting or something? You seem to be comfortable in the City so I assume you’ll stick around there?” She didn’t seem the type to have everything planned out, but Campion was still curious. Whether it was months or a year before she decided to leave and do her own thing, he just knew he’d miss having her around. Campion couldn’t say that for many humans.
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Post by Keziah on Sept 20, 2017 8:50:58 GMT
Keziah was surprised to discover the joy that came with coming back to the grasslands. The City might be home but the Savannah was freedom; in a few short months her world had become so much vaster than the paved roads of the place she'd been born and lived in her entire life. There was so very much of Litharia beyond this, of course, but to her the grasses rippling like water in the breeze seemed boundless, unfettered, never-ending. She would never leave the City behind for good, she didn't think - she was still a City-born Human, still felt deeply tied to the home her people had carved out in the Fae's world when they first came all that time ago. But, nor would it be her prison as well as her home, both secure and yet ensnaring.
It was nearly the turn of the seasons, autumn fast approaching, but the late summer sun was the fiercest yet. Soon she could feel her skin browning under the heat, the freckles across the bridge of her nose proliferating and becoming more apparent. They settled into the walking with the easy familiarity borne of long practice - she'd gotten used to this in her months with Campion. They always travelled at a comfortable pace, but they didn't meander or waste time. Relentless, one foot after another, not hurried but not lingering either - that was the trick of long distance travel. Now and then Keziah would look at the sky, see Nie far above circling on outstretched wings, and dream of joining her. But the walking wasn't so bad, either.
"Good idea. She sounds great, I just hope she's willing to teach me." Keziah didn't suffer from nerves when meeting new people, not even ones that might shoot first and say hi later. While not particularly extroverted or vivacious, she was confident and sassy, and social situations didn't phase her.
"We'll get on great soon as she hears I think you're mental for dragging all these hounds 'round after you, I reckon."
Nie, you should hunt sometime soon. If there aren't any birds up there come down in a bit and hunt down here.
It's nicer up here than down there. Cooler.
I know. But you gotta eat. So do I, and you're better at hunting than me.
That's definitely true!
"Dunno, not for sure. Figure if I can hunt at least I can feed myself, even if I'm still livin' on the streets. I'll stick around the City I reckon, I dunno where else I would go. But bein' able to hunt gotta make life a little easier, even if I just head out to the Savannah once a week or so." She didn't have any real plans, not concrete ones anyway. She just knew that she went hungry a lot, and hunting would mean better chances of getting meat more often. Who knows what it would be like long term - she'd never tried to hunt in the winter, for a start - but it couldn't hurt, right?
"What're you gonna do after we catch Ginger? After she's done schoolin' me up, I mean. Stick with her for a bit?"
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Post by Campion on Sept 22, 2017 6:01:11 GMT
Campion grinned internally. “Oh she’ll teach you. Trust me, once she hears the amount of sass that comes out of your mouth, she won’t hesitate if you ask.” If Kez didn’t want to ask a stranger right off the bat for help, then Campion was willing to ask Ginger for Kez. Despite being a bandit, she was rather fond of kids herself. When she’d see that set determination that Kez had for the bow, she’d be more than willing to help. “She’s also crazy biased about the bow. Doesn’t think there are enough non-rich people that know how to use them well."
Maybe one day, Kez would just accept the fact that Campion loved animals way too much to ever not consider getting more. Already he was thinking about what else he could add to his little pack. In reality though, the more animals he got, the more likely they were to clash with each other, or him for that matter, and the more likely one of them would get hurt. Kali and Crawk were…a unique pair, and the new hyena seemed to be getting along well for the moment. “Speakin’ of them, I still don’t know what to name the new addition. Any ideas?” Campion was thinking about something along the lines of Runt…or Grunt….maybe…hell, he didn’t know. He was bad with names.
The answer he got from Kez about what she was planning was about what he expected. Campion nodded at her, and turned his attention back to their direction. He looked up briefly, then around to gain some idea of where they were and if they were still headed in the right direction. It felt like his skin was boiling, but not yet in a way that was actually damaging or dangerous to him just yet. He looked up at the black dot in the sky that was Nie, curious what it was like to fly, but then decided he had no desire to find out.
The daemon was not big on planning ahead much either himself, much more interested in just…sort of going with whatever came his way or came up in the spur of the moment, hence his impulse buy of the hyena. “Not really sure. I’ll probably have to re-train with her since my sense of balance will be off and I’m not exactly in peak fighting condition.” Truthfully though, the training with Kez could take a long while, so he had no idea really what to expect. “I’ve been wanderin’ around so long by myself though. Might be a nice change to be with her and the gang. I don't think I trust anyone to have my back as much as her. We've been friends a long-ass time. Have no idea if anyone that I used to know is still traveling with her though.” Bandits were cutthroats and thieves. It wasn’t odd for one or two to be killed by one another, or thrown out of the group.
Their direction turned a little further away from the main road. The formation of grasses, trees, and even some of the large boulders and rocks that sat in the ground were beginning to look fairly familiar, though he was not completely sure whether that recognition was related to his close friend. It finally came to a point where Campion could not stand the heat anymore, and he really, really needed some shade. He looked down at his exposed skin and cringed a little, realizing that he’d been exposed for too long and was a shade of red that was not natural to his battle golem side.
“We gotta find some shade, kid. I’m about to catch on fire over here.” It wasn’t even midday, but the sun was blazing which was not uncommon. “I’m gunna have to mount up on Crawk to find something.” There wasn’t anything shade-worthy close in sight, and Campion was beginning to get restless from the dull sensation of his skin burning. “So you can mount up with me and we can try to find something cause holy shit, I’m dyin’ right now.” Which may not have been a total understatement. Too much exposure to the sun could easily kill a daemon, even one with a high tolerance to it. He whistled over Crawk, who seemed to understand it was directed at him, and quickly the Warg trotted closer to him. He pointed at the smaller hyena pup and said, "Carry him," curious as to whether the creature would understand. Interestingly enough, he seemed to have grasped the concept, and, even with his jagged, nasty teeth, gently picked up the young hyena by the scruff. By that point, Campion had pulled himself up onto the beast's awkwardly shaped back and waited for Kez.
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Post by Keziah on Sept 23, 2017 22:45:27 GMT
Keziah couldn't lie, she was pretty excited about meeting Ginger. Campion made her sound dangerous but interesting, and it was fun to think she might actually end up good at something. A skill, that was what she wanted, something she could do better than most people and maybe even make a living out of it somehow. The bow just felt right in how it fit with her magic and if Ginger could teach her how to make the most of it, then it was definitely worth any risk to meet her. Plus, she was really looking forward to hearing the other woman take the shit out of Campion too.
"The hell do rich people need to use bows for?" That confused her. Keziah's image of rich people was upper-class Humans, in their beautiful dresses, carrying their fans and umbrellas, gliding around their court and doing Gods only knew what but it definitely didn't include weapons.
"No idea. Nie came with her name and told it to me. Best way to do it I reckon."
Right. Only one arm. Crazy as it was, Campion was so chilled about what had happened to him that unless she was looking right at him on the right angle, she found herself forgetting he'd recently undergone a traumatic and life-changing injury. Re-training with someone he knew and trusted sounded like a good idea unless he wanted to find himself in a fight he was no longer equipped for. Which meant he seemed to be thinking of sticking with Ginger for a while, going full bandit.
"How do you know Ginger is still alive, and still out doin' what she was doing before? Like, she won't have gone off travelling like you did?" The question wasn't meant to be insensitive, and Keziah failed to realise it might be taken that way, but she was genuinely curious about the life of a bandit and how these shifting relationships with nomadic, unpredictable people even worked.
Without them even really noticing it happening the thin white line of the City walls faded behind them until, suddenly, they were surrounded by nothing but savannah. Then the feeling of freedom really kicked in, and if it wasn't for the searing heat she might have jumped for joy. Instead, she clambered up onto Crawk and held on tight, as she'd learned to do - she didn't exactly like riding the warg but she did have to admit it was a lot faster than walking, and some shade would be pretty nice.
"Shade sounds great. A nap sounds even better. Let's go!"
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Post by Campion on Sept 24, 2017 0:54:22 GMT
Campion had shrugged at the question, not really sure himself. “Not sure. Think some people just like it as a sport? For competition? Probably has to do with making the men in the households look more intimidating too I’m sure.” Truthfully, the bunny daemon didn’t know much about human customs in the City, or at least not the nobility ones. He knew about the low-lifes, those in poverty, and the lower-middle class and that was about it. That was about as far as his interest on the subject went.
Even if the question had been purposely insensitive, Campion felt it was a fair one to ask whether they even knew if Ginger was still sticking around. “There’s always the chance she’s left, yeah. But I really, really doubt it. Known her a long time, kid, and she loves the grasslands a lot. Maybe even more than I do. And she’s way more sensitive to the sun than me.” There was just something about the endless plains that appealed to him, and her, so much. “If we don’t find her within the next few days, I can teach ya as much as I know. Worst comes to worst, we can raid, steal some coin, save up, and get ya a teacher.” He almost added, ‘In Spirit’, but that wasn’t really his choice.
Once Kez was on the warg, Crawk was sprinting across the flat land at fast speed. Due to the height on him and just his body shape, Crawk was not as fast as many animals, but he was much faster than just walking. Kali was able to keep up behind, and the little hyena pup was just dangling in the warg’s mouth.
They’d traveled for at least two hours on Crawk’s back. Campion’s arm ached just slightly from the bouncing around, as did his back from leaning over to hold onto Crawk’s mane. It’d seemed like there was no shade anywhere in sight until finally, on the horizon, Campion spotted a small cluster of trees. There seemed to be some gazelles an zebras hanging around to the right of it, which may have meant there was a water hole. Perfect.
As they grew closer, something zipped past Campion’s face, causing him to instinctively lean back into Kez. He became off balanced and Crawk started to slow, but not before Campion slid off and rolled in the dirt. Thank the gods he couldn’t feel too much pain, else he’d be screaming from the pain of landing on his very, very injured arm.
He shot up to confront the attacker, claws and fangs fully extended with a hint of danger in his eyes, but when he was up on his feet there was an arrow pointed directly at his face, less than a foot away, and a familiar face on the other side of the bow.
“Holy fucking shit, Ginger! You. Scared. The. SHIT. Out. Of. Me.”
The woman herself, Ginger, was shorter than Campion, but very bulky around the shoulders. Though it was hot out, she was fully garbed in tight fitting leathers to shield most of her pale skin from the sun. Freckles dotted her face, and her eyes were shinning, bright and green. Her hair was perhaps the most interesting part about her, wild and wavy, long and shimmering. It was bunched up into a pony-tail-bun-thing.
She was grinning from ear to ear and released the tension on her bow, smiling at Campion and he at her. She looked just the same as when he left.
Crawk had managed to take a wide turn and was running back towards them. His hair was raised before he recognized that Campion was not in danger. Kali’s tail was wagging like mad as she ran up to Ginger, jumping up begging for attention. The hyena pup was finally let on the ground and, obviously confused, ran to hide behind Campion again.
“Well maybe next time, don’t be such an open target on that monster. Hell, where did you even get that thing? It’s massive! Never seen a warg up close. And who’s the kid?”
“Oh the warg is Crawk and the kid is Kez. Shit happened.”
“And you got a hyena too? Are you shitting me? How may animals you need? And WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR ARM?”
“Yeah, I knew you’d say something.” They were talking as if they’d just seen each other a few hours before, rather than a decade.
She fully dropped the bow now and brought him in for a good hug. They embraced for a good while, laughing with glee before pulling away. Ginger got on the points of her feet and gave the bunny daemon a peck on the lips and he returned it back with a much long awaited kiss.
For a moment, he had completely forgotten that Keziah was there, and then it finally dawned on him and he pulled away from Ginger's embrace and kiss. He turned to Kez, so happy that he’d forgotten about the heat that was making his skin turn more and more red. “Kez! This is Ginger. Ginger, Kez.”
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Post by Keziah on Sept 27, 2017 6:34:45 GMT
Riding Crawk made Keziah really, really long for the day that Nie would be large enough to carry her. At the rate the feathered dragon was growing it would be somewhere between six months to a year yet, but boy did Crawk's rolling gait and humped back make Nie, who travelled with a lithe, cat-like grace and fluid sinuous gait on the ground, seem appealing. Plus, of course, the flying would be amazing, and get her places a lot quicker than what felt like hours and hours on the warg. It beat walking, she supposed, but she knew when she finally got off she'd be sore.
She was watching Nie, still flying above them and circling to keep pace with Crawk, when Campion suddenly leaned back into her and she nearly lost her balance. The whoosh of something flying past their faces was too fast for a Human to catch so she didn't know what had caused it when Campion disappeared from in front of her, hitting the ground with a thud she could hear even over Crawk's heavy footfalls. Keziah gripped two handfuls of wiry fur to stay on and Crawk, without urging from her, circled back around and seemed to be considering charging. Keziah prepared to bail out, having no desire to be on the warg's back when he leapt into whatever fray Campion had found himself in, but before she could Crawk abruptly slowed and his hackles went down. He trotted to a stop just in time for Keziah to catch a loud exclamation - "WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR ARM?"
Ah. This had to be the famous Ginger, then. As if the hair wasn't a giveaway.
Keziah groaned when she slid off Crawk, the muscles of her inner thighs very unhappy about the prolonged ride. After shaking them out she wandered around the warg, only to find Campion and Ginger making out. Leaning against the panting animal's solid shoulder, Keziah folded her arms and waited for a few seconds, before deciding that was quite enough of that, thank you very much.
"Geez, Campion, get a room. Hey, Ginger. Thanks for not shooting him dead, I guess." She grinned, not at all shy.
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Post by Campion on Sept 27, 2017 16:28:34 GMT
Campion looked over at Kez frowning, his ears swiveled backwards. “Oh thanks, kid. Someone shoots at me and the first thing you do is tell me to get a room?” It was his usual banter, and it was so hard for him to not grin and roll his eyes. He took a step back away from the other daemon and just…admired her while she talked to Kez. Gods, he’d forgotten how gorgeous she was. It’d been much too long. Campion would defiantly be sticking around for a while with her.
While he was lost in thought, Ginger was mirroring the grin the bunny daemon had made at Kez. She laughed at the thanks she’d received and put her hands on her hips. “No problem , Kez. Asshole was lucky he was riding on a warg. Otherwise he’d probably have an arrow in his arm by now for being such an open target.” She looked over at the bunny daemon who had his arms crossed and was frowning.
“Me introducing you two is going to be the end of my dignity.”
“What dignity, love? You’re the least daemon-y daemon I know.”
Campion thought about it for a moment, then shrugged in agreement. “Touché.” The meet and greet was great and all, but Campion was still starting to burn up like a lobster so he was eager to get to the shade he’d seen from before. Judging from the way the arrow and Ginger had come, she mostly likely came from that spot and had been hiding from the sun as well. “Let’s get some shade. Please. I don’t want to lose what little dignity I have because I look like I sat out in the sun for too long.” Without really waiting for a response, he whistled for his animals to follow after him and he moved almost at a jog to the massive tree.
It was a good little walk, and Campion had slumped onto the ground and breathed a sigh of relief at the cool air. He looked over his shoulder and as he suspected, Ginger had been staying here to cool down. There was some dried food laid out that she’d been working on before seeing him and Kez and…well, trying to kill them.The temperature was so different in the shade than out in the sun, and he appreciated it so much.
Ginger was walking next to Kez and eventually caught up. Crawk was already off hunting, and Kali as well as the striped hyena were resting right at the edge of the shade, snuggled up together. Ginger took her bow off of her shoulder, as well as the quiver holding her arrows, and gently set them against the tree. She sat upright next to Campion and constantly switched between looking at him and Kez. “So? You must have told the kid about me since she wasn’t too alarmed when I have an arrow pointed at your face. Which means you’ve been looking for me.” She gestured towards his arm. “I assume it has something to do with that? What the hell even happened? Must be fresh since you’re bleeding through the bandage.”
Campion cursed, not even realizing that from the fall of Warg, he’d opened up part of the wound. He made a note to fix that later. “Not really, no. And yes. Both?” Ginger laughed at his obvious self-confusion. “Okay the MAIN reason we were lookin’ for you, doll, is that Kez here wants to learn how to shoot a bow. And, well….”
“You’re shit at using one and need a hand?” Ginger smiled at her own pun. Ouch.
The bunny daemon sighed. “Yes. And I don’t know anyone better than you since it’s all you do.” Their form of squabbling and banter was so familiar and missed. He looked over at Kez.
“I told you, you’d two get along. Between you and her giving me endless shit about my bad decisions, I think I might as well just get out of the picture. She's pretty much better than me at...everything.”
Again, the female daemon rolled her eyes, but there was a genuinely warm smile there as she missed her beloved friend as well. They’d have plenty of time to catch up though, and she was very curious about this kid he’d been traveling with. She knew the bunny daemon loved kids in general, but she’d never think he’d just be traveling around with one.
“Why a bow?” she asked Kez. It was not meant to be a demeaning question, but a curious one. “I can teach you if you want, especially since anyone traveling with Campion is a friend of mine too. Just be warned that I won’t go easy on you. The physical training is pretty grueling if you want to get good.”
While they talked, Campion rolled over to where the dried food was and started picking through it, taking a stick of jerky and chewing on it to sate some of his hunger.
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Post by Keziah on Sept 29, 2017 8:18:15 GMT
Keziah didn't miss a beat before shooting off a quick retort.
"Someone shoots at you and the first thing you do is stick your tongue down their throat?" She grinned, arms folded, and she was still laughing she she turned to Ginger.
"Lucky's right. He needs the one arm he's managed to keep a hold of." Ginger beat her to a retort about Campion's so called dignity so she just raised her eyebrows and grinned again, her look at the Daemon pointed and amused. And very clearly in agreement with Ginger's assessment.
A heartbeat after she finished laughing at Campion a whoosh of air preceded Nie landing on the ground with a thump in between her, and Ginger and Campion. Keziah shaded her face from the dust eddy that followed as Nie came to a stop, stretching her wings out before tucking them against her back. The feathered dragon circled around Keziah, brushing close, before she eyed Ginger with something between curiosity and suspicion. Keziah smoothed the silky mane around her face, combing the tangles out with her fingers while Campion and Ginger reconnected, but when the time came to seek the shade she was glad. It was hot, and Nie's black coat was burning to the touch.
"This is Nie," Keziah said, for Ginger's benefit, though she didn't explain why she was introducing what appeared to be an animal, if an unusual and rare one. Nie would introduce herself properly later on, probably, when she was ready.
As soon as they reached the cover of the trees Nie threw herself dramatically on the ground, wings spreading out to cool down. Keziah followed suit, lying face down on the grass before rolling over on to her back, arms spread out and skin sticky with sweat.
"Fuckin' hell it's hot as all get out." Too hot to hunt - she wasn't hungry, anyway. Thirsty though. When she could move she'd fish her water skin out of her pack.
"I got some magic that improves my eyesight. Thought it might give me an edge with a bow, y'know? I don't mind if it's tough, life's shit on the streets and that's tough anyway. I can work." Keziah tilted her head up to look at Campion when he moved.
"Are you just helpin' yourself to her food, you free loader?"
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Post by Campion on Sept 29, 2017 20:39:09 GMT
“Yes. Yes, that’s exactly what I like to do. I'm not ashamed.” Damn. Meeting Ginger was putting Kez on a role with the banter and instults. This was good, though. If Kez wanted Ginger as a mentore, they’d have to get along. Otherwise Ginger would not have bothered with her and sent Kez on her way. There was a part of Campion that had a sense of relief that he didn’t know he needed. There was a very small part of him that had been worried if the two of them would not get along. Then Campion would have had to choose who to stick around with. Well, that answer was easy; He would choose to continue traveling with Keziah since Ginger was fully capable of handling herself with hunting and defense. She was also capable of handling herself much better than the kid. Kez was like family to him at that point, so he would never have abandoned her unless she wanted to part ways. And even then, if she ever needed his help, he wouldn’t hesitate to give it. Hell, he’d give his other arm up for her.
“I have to say, I’m feeling personally attacked right now.” Campion was kidding, brazenly so with a toothy grin. “Maybe I’ll just leave you two to it and go do my own thing. Find some more dogs or something to collect.”
Ginger frowned playfully with a hint of amusement behind her shinning green eyes. “That’s cute. You haven’t seen me in years and you’re saying that you’re just going to walk away from me? Especially after the way you ‘stuck your tongue down my throat’? Please.” She was mimicking the way Keziah had said it to continue on the running banter by insulting him more.
“Okay. Well. Um…”
He was so uncomfortable for just a moment that Ginger couldn’t help but giggle. She was a little startled by Nie’s appearance, but based on the way Campion reacted, or rather his lack of reaction to her coming to the ground, she’d instantly assumed it was either his or the kid’s. Kez introduced the animal, which didn’t really seem that odd to her. Her immediate thought was not that the creature was sentient, but rather that Kez just had a strong connection to whatever it was.
Ginger personally wasn’t too fond of pets, but she did appreciate how much Campion cared for them. “She’s a beauty. Where’d ya find her?” More importantly, how was she able to tame something so big? The rat daemon would never quite understand.
Campion’s ears shot up when Keziah asked about what he was doing. He shrugged, his mouth stuffed with some dried fruit he found. “Trust me, if she cared if I was eating her food or not, she’d shoot me in the calf or something. Plus she knows that I’ll bring her some food later to make up for it. Even if she is the better hunter.” Okay well, maybe not. He didn’t really know what to do with his one arm, but he’d have to learn sooner rather than later. If anything, Crawk would maybe bring back something good. “Go on, go on. You two talk. I’ll sit here and just cuddle the dog. Ya know. The only one that seems to be just fine with the way I am.” Kali walked over, curious about the food, and was lying against his legs.
Ginger snickered, but left Campion to chowing down on some mediocre dried food. She approached Kez, not really thinking twice about the big feathery dragon she was with, and put a hand out. “Lemme see your bow and your arm. Need a good idea of what I’ll be working with. If you want, we can start training after we do some hunting. I can give you idea of what your form looks like. You got any arrows?” Ginger mostly made her own, and she was willing to bet that Kez would want to learn that skill. It’d save her a lot of coin in the future.
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Post by Keziah on Oct 2, 2017 6:45:03 GMT
Keziah groaned and rolled her eyes.
"You know, the answer to all of life's questions isn't actually 'another dog', right?" She was going to end up following Litharia's craziest dog hoarder around at this rate. As if Crawk didn't attract enough attention all on his own, the Daemon wanted his own wolf pack, only with more variety.
"Goddess gave her to me, as a gift," she added, in answer to Ginger's question. Keziah didn't remember the particular Goddess' name, she'd never been one for faith and worship. However, she was ridiculously grateful nonetheless - Nie was one of the best things that had ever happened to her.
"She's wicked cool. Super smart, like smarter than me and definitely smarter than Campion-" she shot the Daemon a cheeky grin when she said this- "and she can speak telepathically. She might say hi to you herself sometime, once she knows you better." Nie was picky about who she liked and took time to warm up to people, but Keziah liked Ginger already and was confident her dragon would too, soon enough.
"Nie, you should go hunt, since garbage guts over there is gonna eat all Ginger's food. Yeah?"
Nie lifted her head, observing Keziah closely as she tried to decide whether she was happy leaving her Human with this new Daemon. Ginger had thus far been nothing but friendly, but she was still a dangerous bandit. After a moment though, Nie dipped her head in an elegant nod and then bounded off into the grasses, disappearing with a flick of her long black tail.
"I dunno if she'll get much. She's still learning, like me." Struggling into a standing position, Keziah wiped the sweat off her brow and held her arm out for Ginger, after stooping to scoop her bow up off the ground so she could hand that over at the same time.
"It's just a training bow. Guy at the shop said I'd need to start with it 'cos I wouldn't be strong enough for the real ones yet. I tried pullin' a couple in the shop, reckon he wasn't wrong." Keziah had gained some weight that summer, travelling with Campion and raiding, and most of it had settled as lean, hard muscle from all the walking, running, and hauling stuff around. She was still on the thin side though, and what she'd gained in muscle had mostly gone into helping her travel and cover the ground comfortably and efficiently, rather than bulking the muscles she would use with the bow. That would have to come with training.
"I got two arrows, just enough to practice with. They're in my pack."
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Post by Campion on Oct 3, 2017 3:06:19 GMT
“Actually, that’s where you’re wrong. It is the answer. To everything. Especially unhappiness or bitterness. Or even jealousy.” Campion knew Kez wasn’t the least bit jealous, but he couldn’t help it. He just really loved dogs. A lot. And a lot of other animals, but canines seemed to be pretty could at taking care of themselves when surrounded by others. They just brought so much life to everything. He leaned over Kali and gave her a big hug, grinning in the process as she barked and turned her head around, licking his face and wagging her tail.
Ginger, meanwhile, was momentarily uninterested in her friend. She was intrigued as Keziah spoke of Nie as if she were a person. It didn’t seem entirely impossible since Ginger was open minded, but it was a little hard to believe it was gifted from a god. She wasn’t particularly religious and didn’t believe in them to begin with, but she decided that didn’t make Kez any less interesting or funny. “Sounds cool. Hope she speaks to me at some point.” Her eyes looked over at Campion, questioning whether the creature could truly speak to people and his own eyes seemed to answer her question
Campion was now wrestling with Kali as she barked and had her chest low to the ground and her rump in the air, and obvious display of excitement and playfulness. He was grabbing at her muzzle, and she’d retaliate by snapping at his hand and barking. The bunny daemon was on his knees as he played with the dog, looked at Kez and frowned. “Wait, what does that even mean? Garbage guts? Now you’re just makin’ stuff up.” He went back to playing with the dog, and soon the hyena grabbed at his trousers and started tugging on them, wanting to join in too.
“I’ve got plenty more food and can do a bit of hunting myself. I can, ya know, actually kill something unlike bunny butt over there.” The rat daemon was specifically talking to Kez again.
She looked at the bow and took it out of Kez’s hand, nodding. It was nothing special, but would suffice for building some strength. It’d be mostly important in building form though. Ginger pulled back on it with so much ease, making it seem almost childish with how easy it was. Once she was satisfied with testing it, she used one hand to feel Kez’s harm and winced at how teeny the muscles were. There were some, and she assumed that came from being with Campion, but not much.
“Well he was right, this will be good for training with. The range is very short though. You’d be lucky to kill a pigeon with it if you could get close enough. It can help with some strength build up, but we’ll have to do different exercises to build your strength. It might take a few months if ya got that time. And I can teach you how to make your own arrows. Stealing them is the easiest thing to do of course. And whenever you’re ready, I can help you make your own bow.” Ginger was offering a lot, but she was passionate about shooting. It was no skin off her back to take the time to teach Kez.
Ginger sat onto the dusty ground, a safe enough distance from Campion to not be run over by his dog and yeen. She handed back the bow to the kid, smiling. “Once it gets cool enough, we can go out hunting. You know how to sneak good, yeah? I’ll give ya an example on form. We’ll keep Campion here since he’s probably so off balance, everything hears him coming.”
“I can hear you.”
“That’s the point, babe.”
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Post by Keziah on Oct 7, 2017 2:16:28 GMT
Keziah folded her arms and looked pointedly at Ginger.
"See what I been dealin' with since I met him? Has he always been like this?" The banter was still only teasing though, really. Campion had already had Kali and Crawk when Keziah met him, and she'd been travelling with him a while now. The hyena pup was the only new addition in that time and although Keziah thought three dogs was at least two dogs too many, at least he hadn't reached crazy animal hoarder levels. Yet.
"Garbage guts as in eats anything and everythin'. You ain't heard that one before? Sometimes people describe street rats like it, cos we gotta eat all kinds a crap and can't be fussy."
She was nervous, watching Ginger try out her bow, size her up. She badly wanted the woman to approve of her, not only because she wanted training but because she was Campion's friend and, for all the Daemon's faults, he'd become like family to her over the months. He was the older brother her two real brothers had never been - not because their relationship had been bad before, but because when Keziah's family fell apart they'd been old enough to find work on their own and she hadn't. They had never come back for her though, as far as she knew, and she had no idea what had happened to either them or her parents. So, when Ginger said the bow would work for training, and outlined how she might be able to help, a genuine grin - rare, for the wary, hardened teenager - broke out over her features.
"I got all the time in the world. Ain't like I gotta rush to live back on the streets, y'know?" Avoiding this winter in the City would be ideal, if Ginger was willing to put up with her that long. Winter was the hardest - when the cold and the snow came everyday became even more of a fight for survival, teetering on the brink of starving or freezing to death. The savannah alone was no salvation - she'd be easy pickings for everything from bandits to lions - but out here with Ginger and Campion? That sounded great.
"I sneak way better'n I shoot, for now anyway. Did plenty of that in the City." She wasn't a professional thief by any stretch of the imagination, but stealing had also been necessary for survival.
"You think you'll be able to help Campion learn how to fight again?" She wasn't teasing anymore - she was actually curious about this. Not all that many people survived losing an arm, and Campion had been fighting a certain way for decades. Would he ever be as proficient as he had been?
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Post by Campion on Oct 7, 2017 4:08:35 GMT
Ginger could see the nervousness in Kez, but she figured it was for a different reason than what the girl was actually feeling. As a daemon, and as a bandit, she believed that perhaps she was a bit intimidating, and if that was the case, then good. On most circumstances, she wouldn’t have bothered with any sort of mentoring. She didn’t care much for other people and would much rather take all of someone’s belongings than bother spending the energy to teach someone, even if it did come to the bow. But Campion so brazenly cared about the kid. In fact, she was willing to bet he’d give another limb for her. The rat daemon was just good at reading him.
Campion had gotten up after their banter, and decided to work on some swings to test his balance. Ginger’s green eyes glanced over with every swing here and there, and she made notes in her head on how to help him improve. Already she could see he was struggling. His balance was off, so his feet were positioned weird, and his swings didn’t have the other arm to help control them, so he’d swing and go to far forward. The man would defiantly need some help, but part of why she appreciated him so much was because he never seemed to let the worst bits of life keep him down.
He was not her primary interest for the time being though. For now, she’d promised Kez a hunt, and the girl seemed ecstatic about it. She did appreciate the confidence the girl had with her stealth though. Ginger made a ‘hmph’ noise, but it was with a hint of sarcasm behind it. “We’ll see. I like your enthusiasm, kid. Make sure you keep it when it looks like you’re not getting any better. You’ll get to a stale stage at a point where it seems like nothing you do is improving, but it is with constant repetition, repetition, repetition. We’ll have those back and arm muscles on ya in no time too! Damn rich folks will take one look at ya and know not to fuck with you.” She wasn’t over exaggerating. Pulling back a bow with a strong draw weight took a lot of upper arm and back strength.
With her question about Campion, Ginger was starting to piece together that they’d probably been traveling a long while. Kez sounded genuinely concerned, and if she’d come from the street, it wasn’t often that a street rat could attach to someone as well as trust them. With confidence, Ginger nodded. “Sure can. He’ll just need a good sparin’ partner, and I don’t play nice when we spar. He’ll learn real quick. Bet he didn't tell ya that I'm the better fighter out of the two of us.” That, and she’d actually help him figure out what stances were more comfortable, as well as how to control his swings now.
They still had quite a bit of time before Ginger would be comfortable enough to leave the shade of the tree, so she sat down on the ground at the edge of it, inviting Kez to sit with her. Campion’s newest addition, the hyena, ran up to her and sniffed at the ground a few feet away from them. Instead of approaching Ginger though, it bounded up to Kez and smelled at her with a little more familiarity. “Don’t let Campion see him taking a liking to you so much. He’ll get jealous.” Which she’d always thought was cute. Vicious daemon was actually a big sucker for cute dog-like animals, apparently. And bunnies. Always the bunnies.
“I’ll ask him for the full story later, but do ya know what happened to him?” Her voice was filled with some mild concern now, in a more serious tone than she’d been in when bantering with her close friend. “Has he been alright? I haven’t seen him in years. I’d be lying if there were times that I wasn’t worried. Damn daemon is reckless.”
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Post by Keziah on Oct 15, 2017 5:48:08 GMT
Training might not sound like much fun under most circumstances, but for Keziah it was salvation. It wasn't like she was having to fit it in around other things she cared about - in the City, almost all her waking hours were consumed with survival. Finding jobs, stealing food, thieving or lying or flirting her way into a place to sleep and a meal. And even the times where she wasn't working the escape had a dark side - drugs, drink, oblivion. The difference now was, while she was trying to survive, she'd also be learning something that at worst would mean she might go hungry less or not have to rely on finding dangerous work just so she'd have something to eat. At best, she might actually find a way to turn this into a replacement for the whoring and stealing. That all depended on if she was any good, of course, but the trying? That wasn't a problem. And even if it was hard, compared to her life on the streets it would be a welcome relief.
Even with meeting Campion, this held true. Keziah was uncomfortably aware that she was more hindrance than help on raids right now. Her magic was still new, unrefined, Nie still young and inexperienced, and Campion spent a lot of time worrying about her getting killed. And even if the Daemon was happy with a near-useless Human tagging around after him indefinitely, he could no longer afford to be her sole protector. With his injury he needed to focus on himself for a while, and when he went back to raiding he needed to be able to concentrate on keeping himself alive instead of her. No, it was time to learn to fend for herself properly. If Ginger could help with that, Keziah didn't care how hard it would be.
"I'm fine with that. I'll work hard, really."
It was a relief, too, that someone who Keziah presumed had experience with catastrophic injuries thought Campion should be back to his old self, skills-wise, with some time and practice. Taking a seat in the shade alongside Ginger, Keziah stretched her legs out and ruffled the ears of the hyena pup when he wandered over.
"Oh, I know. He hates that Crawk likes me so much, even though it's only cos I don't talk shit about him. I reckon he's smart, not like Nie but, like, more than a regular dog or whatever." Or maybe he just saw her as something that needed protecting, and Campion as self-sufficient.
"He said something about gettin' recognised for a crime he committed a long time ago. He didn't give any details, but it was the Hounds who took his arm off. Reckon they thought they'd killed him but he's damn lucky, a healer just happened to be there and helped him out. Reckless is right. I'd say he'd benefit from a stern talking to from someone he might actually listen to, like you."
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